


All The Dead

by averyroswell, lipsticklesbienne



Category: Original Work
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Multi, Murder, Murder Mystery, Transphobia, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 21:31:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18269681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averyroswell/pseuds/averyroswell, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lipsticklesbienne/pseuds/lipsticklesbienne
Summary: In Asao Kaneto's small town, nothing out of the usual happens. Slowly but yet suddenly, the town's queer youth starts to go missing and winds up dead by a mysterious murderer, who seems to be targeting them. Asao, Anissa Davis, Vicca Moore, Isaac Levanon, and Lee Hurst are determined to find out who's behind this before the next one missing becomes one of them





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys!! this is the first time im posting a non fanfiction work to ao3. this is a novel ive been working on for a while. my good friend roswell and i started planning long ago (almost a year i believe!) and this is what ive got so far! 
> 
> some warnings before you read:  
> this is murder mystery. there will be graphic descriptions of death and violence. later on in a chapter sexual assault and homophobic hate crimes are mentioned. please if you are sensitive to these things, read with your own discretion. please be safe uwu
> 
> enjoy!

Rory was the first to go missing. They were in our grade and debate team, and Anissa and I were fairly acquainted with them. They were probably better than me at debate. But I wouldn’t admit that out loud, because Anissa would laugh and it would bruise my ego even more.

We thought it was a kidnapping at first. Thought they were going to be rescued and were going to be alright. That was until Rory Costello was found dead in the Sun Pass state forest. Reading the autopsy online made me want to throw up, and I’m usually not squeamish.

That was almost a year ago. Since then, the whole town has been on edge. Schools and parents are worried about our safety, and the school board considered shutting down our school. Of course, it didn’t go through. I’m glad it didn’t, or else we wouldn’t have formed the Specs.

The Specs - meaning Anissa Davis, Isaac Levanon, Vicca Moore, Lee Hurst, and I - formed after the murder of Matthais Jensen. I didn’t know him that well, but practically the rest of the school did. He was a junior while the rest of us were sophomores. I remember the speeches people made at his funeral.

His mom, in an attempt to brighten up the dark ceremony, talked about the time he was four, and tried helping her cook. He burned himself by placing his hand too close to the fire. She talked about when he came out as bisexual to her, and the time she met his first boyfriend. She was in tears by the end of her stories.

His dad talked about when he started to lose his hearing. Matthais was around 11 when he started to go deaf. He wore hearing aids since then and got his fair share of bullying. His dad started to choke up, describing when a substitute made him take his hearing aids out because she was concerned about cheating. He talked about wanting to enter his son into baseball, but all he wanted to do was cook with his mom. Matthais’s father looked like him. 

The air felt heavy after the funeral. Not just one queer kid went missing and was found dead, but another one. I was anxious and petrified at the thought of anyone else, especially Anissa or I being the next ones murdered. A trans bi guy like me who's been out for years is in danger, and Anissa is openly bi as well, like Matthais and I. She hasn’t told me, but I know she's as terrified as I am. The look on her face when the murders are brought up says it all.

One morning in homeroom, the room felt heavy and solemn. Anissa was absent. I could tell something was up. Mrs. Padilla stepped in the front of the room and cleared her throat. “I’m not sure if you all have heard the news but one of your classmates, Aileen Summer, is deceased.”

I tried not to gasp. No wonder Anissa wasn’t here. I raised my hand. “May I call Anissa Davis? I need to talk to her,” I asked and got a nod from Mrs. Padilla. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and left the room, pulling her number up.

“Hello?” Her groggy voice answered. “Asao, what the fuck are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be in homeroom?”

“Yeah. I heard about Aileen. Jesus Christ, her too?”

“Yeah.” I could almost hear her wince from the other line. 

“They’re not doing anything about it. These are hate crimes, Anissa. Why the fuck isn’t anyone doing anything? The cops are barely doing any investigations.”

There's a bit of rustling over the line. “Well,” she started, “I heard that the evidence and crime scenes were tampered with. Like, I heard the bodies had been cleaned and the people who found them moved the bodies. There’s seriously something wrong about these murders. They’re- they’re fucking targeting us, Asao.”

“I know,” I said, barely above a whisper. “What if it’s me next? Or you?”

“It won’t be,” she says with authority. I can see her jaw set in my mind's eye. “I’m coming by after lunch. Do you want to meet somewhere?” 

“We can’t do this alone, ‘Nissa. I don’t want to admit it but two queer kids can’t investigate the murder of three other queer kids.” Homeroom was almost over and I was getting anxious.

“I know. I gotta go. My parents want to talk. Bye, Asao.”

A click. I headed back in the room to hear Mrs. Padilla talking about if anyone had any pictures or mementos from Aileen, that they would be organizing a mural for her, like they did with Rory and Matthais.

The bell rang and I rushed to get out, but was stopped by a tall blond kid. ‘What was that about?” He asked in a hushed voice. 

“I was talking to Anissa Davis about her girlfriend. Why?”

“My moms are worried about me and my brother. She almost didn’t want me coming today. They’re worried that Benji or I am gonna go missing. It’s scary.” 

I adjusted my backpack. “Yeah? You’re Isaac, right?” He nodded. “So your moms could be targeted?”

“Not just me. My little brother is aroace, and I’m gay..”

I nodded and cleared my throat. “So, what’s this about?”

“I heard you talking to Anissa. I sit in the back and you forgot to close the door. I want in to help.” He pushed his glasses up his nose and awkwardly fidgeted with his sleeve.

Taking a deep breath, I stopped in front of my next class. “Fine. It’s Anissa, you, and I. No one else.”

Isaac coughed and looked away, earning a groan from me. “Well… about that. You know Lee Hurst and Vicca Moore? I couldn’t help but talk to them too. You know they’re queer too, right?”

Of course. Vicca started zer transition in middle school and was the coolest kid in the theatre program. And Lee Hurst skipped like, two grades, had really soft curly hair, and knew every movie quote in existence. “I need to talk to Anissa. She’s the one orchestrating the investigation. She’s not here today. Aileen was her girlfriend. She’s coming back during lunch.”

“Thanks, Asao.” He hummed and spun around - which is definitely the gayest thing I’ve seen - and left to go his next class. All during geometry I kept thinking about him butting himself into the investigation Anissa and I wanted to start. But at the very same time, it could be a good thing for us. I know I’m right. We can’t do it alone.


	2. 2

Anissa kept her promise. She came by during lunch and hunted me down to talk to me.

“I have interesting news,” I told her, rocking back and forth on my heels.. “Isaac Levanon? You know him, right?”

Anissa shook her head. “Quiet kid in our homeroom. Wears the Star Of David necklace all the time. He’s taller than you and I. Dirty blond hair. What about him? He didn’t go missing, did he?”

“No. After homeroom, he came up to me,” I lowered my voice. “Said he’s terrified of his moms or little brother or even himself going missing. He wants in the investigation, though.”

“What?”

“Not just him. Vicca Moore and Lee Hurst overheard us too.” 

` Anissa rolled her eyes and punched my shoulder. “That’s what you get for talking so loud., idiot.”

I gave her a harsh glare and cleared my throat. “Anyways. I think It would be good. We need help, ‘Nissa. If it’s just us, one or both of us are going to die.” 

Anissa let out a frustrated breath of air and crossed her arms, deep in thought. I knew the risks. If someone snitched or found out, more of us would be in trouble. And now it’s not just 2 lives in danger, it’s five. She looked back up to me and nodded. “Okay. Let’s let them in.”

I smiled softly and nodded back. “Do you have any of them in your next classes?” She fidgeted with a string on her emerald hijab and stared at the floor for a few seconds.

“Lee is in my history class. Uh, other than that, I don’t think anyone else is, though. You?”

“Nah. Just in my homeroom.”

She nodded, giving a small ‘hm’ noise. “Alright. Well, uh, I guess this is it. We’re in this now. We can’t back out or all of us are going to fucking die.” She glanced at the nearest clock and huffed. “I gotta go. I can’t be late. Good luck, Asao.” Giving me a quick wave, she adjusted the strap on her backpack and turned around, bouncing off to her history class. I sighed. 

“What was that about?” A soft voice came from behind, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. It was Isaac.

“Jesus, you can’t just do shit like that. You’re gonna get punched in the face.” He frowned and shuffled his shoes against the tile flooring. 

“I’m sorry.” He winced, pulling at the sleeve of his soft, baby blue sweater. 

‘That was Anissa. She was talking to me about letting you and Vicca and Lee in on the investigation. You do know the risks of this, right?” I wasn’t exactly trying to scare him off. I knew we needed the extra help, but to a certain extent, I couldn’t handle the risk of four other murders just because I was too headstrong. 

“I do,” He perked back up and bit his bottom lip. “I mean,” He gave a short snicker, and I couldn’t tell if he was laughing at something he was thinking about, or the risk of all of us being murdered. “Don’t must of us want to die anyways?”

“Well, yeah. But being murdered is different. I don’t think it’ll be fun. I don’t even want to think about dying right now. Just know the risks of joining the investigation. Vicca and Lee too.”

“They do know.” The bell rang and Isaac hurried out a quick “Bye!” And left. I shoved my hands into my hoodie pocket and scampered off to my next class.


	3. 3

When I got home, my dad was waiting, sitting at the table, almost like he was going to chew me out for finding my juul again, or something. “Asao?” He called, beaconing me to sit down.

 

“What’s goin’ on?”

 

“I don’t know if going to school is a safe option for you anymore.” My dad never spoke in circles. He was a straightforward, no nonsense man. The day I told him I was trans, he simply nodded and we bought my first binder together. The day he found out I was bi was when I seemed down about my old friend getting a girlfriend. He had asked me, “You like him, don’t you?” To which I wanted to deny, but he knew the truth. 

 

“What?” I snapped back into reality and frowned. My dad gave me a look of despair.

 

“Asao, I don’t want you to go missing. I can’t handle that. You’ve been to three funerals already. That’s damaging for you. I want you to be safe. I don’t think you’ll be safe if you keep going to school.”

 

I thought of at least eight different rebuttals to tell him why I need to be at school, but I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t going to listen to him, of course. But I just nodded. 

 

“I’m sorry, Asao. I just don’t want to lose you. I’m looking for homeschooling programs now.”

 

I nodded again and got up from the table. “I understand.” And with that, I headed into my room and sat on my bed, pulling my phone out of my pocket and calling Anissa. I had her on speed dial. 

 

“Asao?”

 

“My dad doesn’t want me to come to school anymore,” I spewed out. I got that trait from my dad. 

 

“What?” She shouted, causing me to jump. “No, no, no, no, that’s going to mess with our investigation. We’ll have nowhere else to plan!”

 

“I know. I’m not listening to him. If he pays for some homeschool program, I’m still coming to school. He has a pretty good reason for not wanting me to go, but I’ll miss out on so much. Debate season is coming up. I can’t miss that.”

 

She huffed over the line and kept silent for a few seconds. “I think we should start investigating. I got Isaac’s number and I gave him yours. I think we should start investigating soon.”

 

“Okay.” 

 

“Bye, Asao.” 

 

“Bye.”

 

I heard a click, and the call was over. I set my phone down and spread myself out on my bed. I knew this was going to be a high stress topic to investigate, and it was terribly risky. If we didn’t do this right, we were going to die. Not even five minutes after my call ended with Anissa, my phone went off, revealing a text from Isaac.

 

_ hey it’s isaac _

 

__ __ _ anissa gave me your number to talk about investigations  _

 

__ __ _ btw im starting a group chat for us _

 

__ __ Almost instantaneously, I got a notification alerting me that I was added to a group chat, just like Isaac said. Vicca, Lee, and Anissa were already there. 

 

The conversation was just planning. We decided that we would meet at Isaac’s tomorrow and discuss our first step for the investigation.

 

After our plans were set, the group chat became dull. Nothing but Lee sending memes to the chat. However, I got one more notification. Just from Isaac.

 

_ You deserve to know that my little brother went missing. I already know he’s gone. So do my moms. Funeral’s soon. You’re invited. _

 

__ __ I felt something wet drip from my face, and I reached my hands up to rub my eyes. Tears were starting to form and they were already starting to pour. I couldn’t place the reason, but Isaac trusting me, despite barely even knowing me, with that sensitive, very new information made it hurt more. Poor kid, I thought. He better be okay. 

 

_ I’m sorry Isaac. Keep safe, okay? _

  
  


__ I didn’t hear back from him until the next day.


	4. 4

     School dragged on forever and I couldn’t wait to meet with everyone else. Near the end of the day, Anissa hunted me down to talk to me about the meeting. She gripped my arm and prevented me from heading to my last class, which I had with her. “You’re getting a ride with me.”

 

“Sounds like a threat, ‘Nissa,” I chuckled and yanked my arm away from me. “Wait for me at the end of class.”

 

Biology sucked ass, to say the least. It dragged on longer than the day itself. I almost wish I had my juul with me. Ease a little bit of stress with a nice buzz. But I was not ready to get caught by my Bio teacher. He’d bury me alive and proceed to report me to the office and I’d probably be imprisoned for owning drugs. 

 

Anissa caught me after the bell rung and smiled, gripping my arm again. “Let’s go now.” 

 

“Does anyone else need a ride?”

 

She paused, a small hum coming out between her lips. “Shit, I don’t remember what Isaac said to me in the library this morning. I think he’s good. It’s at his house anyways.”

 

In the car ride over, Isaac’s address written sloppily on my hand, it had been pretty much silent, nothing but Anissa’s soft music playing in the background. Even then, she didn’t want to sing along or anything. So quiet it stayed.

 

We pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building, exiting the Jeep. She kept a notebook close to her chest as we headed to the doors. “What’s the number?”

 

“216,” I read off of my hand. “Stairs or elevator?”

 

“Stairs.”

 

Quietly, we headed to the second floor, scanning each side of the hallway, finally spotting Isaac’s apartment. I knocked on the door.

 

Isaac opened it quickly and gave me a soft smile. “Hi guys,” He greeted, gesturing for us to come inside. “Vicca and Lee are waiting in my room.”

Isaac’s mom waved to us as she scrubbed at a plate over the sink. “Nice to meet you two,” She said. 

I simply gave her a nod. I didn’t look too closely, but I could tell she didn’t sleep very well last night. She looked exhausted, and we all knew why.

 

We headed into Isaac’s room, where band posters, artwork, and books were scattered everywhere. A couple of medals, one from 2007 were hung up on the wall.

Vicca and Lee were sitting by each other, talking in quiet voices about some movie that came out last weekend.

“Hi,” Anissa said, sitting next to Lee. She nods at him. “Nice bracelet.”

 

“Hey, thanks!” he said. “I can make you one if you want.”

 

“Can we get started please? This isn’t a sleepover, this is a murder investigation,” I groaned. I didn’t want to talk about that kind of stuff. We had to continue or else more of us were going to fucking die.

 

“Okay, damn,” Anissa muttered. She cleared her throat and began to speak, like she does while giving debate. “We all know what’s going on. Our people, innocent children, are being murdered. The cops are being unhelpful, as usual, so this is up to us. Our first order of business is interviews.” She opened her notebook and read off of it.

 

“We need to get down to the start. What happened the days they went missing and the days they were found.”

 

“Soooo... what are we going to do?” Vicca asked, nervously twirling the tie on zer headband.

 

“I’m getting there. I suggest we interview the parents. Ask if there was anything unusual about that day. This is how we can narrow a list of suspects and get closer and closer to solving the cases.” Anissa gave a serious nod and closed her notebook. 

 

“Yeah, but what if the parents don’t want to talk? Especially to us. We’re just kids, so how are we going to convince them?” I asked. That was a major flaw in her plan. Her expression faltered and she bit at her nails.

 

“Well, we knew them, right?” Lee spoke up. “We could just say that we wanna to know what happened. It doesn’t have to come off like an investigation.”

 

“You’re right,” Anissa murmured. “Okay, so who’s going to interview who? I’m talking to Aileen’s parents. Obviously.”

 

“Lee and I can talk to Rory’s family,” Vicca said.

 

“That leaves Isaac and I with Matthais’ parents,” I shrugged, looking over at Isaac, who was sitting beside me. “When are we doing this?”

 

“As soon as we can,” Anissa said. “I have stuff to do tonight. I’m helping Aileen’s parents plan the funeral.”

 

“My moms need help,” Isaac whispered.

 

“Homework.” Vicca and Lee said in unison, then fist bumped.

 

“Alright. Should we head out, Anissa?” I asked and she nodded in response. “Bye guys.”

 

“Wait! When’s the next meeting?” Isaac asked. 

 

“I’ll figure that out,” She told him, grabbing her keys out of her pocket, Vicca and Lee stood up as well. 

 

“Goodbye.” 

  
  


As Anissa drove home, I thought about how our meeting went. I liked everyone just fine, I was just concerned about their safety. I wish I didn’t drag them into this. If they got killed, it would be my fault.

 

That night I didn’t sleep. I was thinking about Isaac, Anissa, Vicca, Lee, Benji, Matthais, Aileen, Rory. I was worried about all of them. Even the ones who were dead. In my stomach, there was this overwhelming feeling of dread and anxiety. I was terrified. Nothing could calm me down.

 


End file.
